Incomplete mastication of food frequently results in undigested portions of food, termed food debris, remaining in the mouth especially in locations which may easily trap small particles, such as, by example, between teeth. Food debris may then be colonized by bacteria which promote the decay of the food debris and thereby substantially contribute to the cause of bad breath.
Many products are available in the market which purport to remove odors associated with halitosis. These products generally serve to mask the effects of bad breath by imparting a pleasant smell to the breath rather than eliminating the causative factor of bad breath. As such, these products constitute breath sweeteners such as candies, mints, gums, sprays and other various substances and formulations which essentially serve to disguise malodorous breath. Other substances in the market, such as mouthwashes and so on, purport to kill or destroy bacteria and hence to reduce the effects of bad breath by preventing increased rates of food debris putrefaction by bacteria. There is a need for a product which effectively reduces or eliminates odors associated with bad breath at the source of said odors--to wit food debris--in a consistent and reliable manner. The breath cleanser of this invention harnesses the enzymatic reaction of alpha-amylase which breaks down the food debris on which bacteria colonize and thereby prevents increased rates of bacterial putrefaction of food debris and the resultant bad breath.
In spite of conventional oral hygiene procedures, food debris exists in the mouth in varying amounts. The chemical description of the bulk of this debris, at least insofar as it relates to bacterial colonization of the food debris, is starch. Starch occurs in two forms, alpha-amylose and amylopectin. Alpha-amylose is composed of D-glucose monomer units bound in alpha(1.fwdarw.4) linkages. Distinctly, amylopectin, in addition to alpha (1.fwdarw.4) glucose linkages, further comprises glucose chains which branch off the main unbranched alpha(1.fwdarw.4) backbone. The specific branch points which comprise amylopectin are connected to the unbranched glucose backbone by alpha(1.fwdarw.6) linkages. The linkages in the branch itself are thesame alpha(1.fwdarw.4) linkages found in the unbranched glucose chains of amylose.
Amylose can be degraded by a hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by the enzyme alpha(1.fwdarw.4)-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase. This enzyme is commonly referred to by its trivial name alpha-amylase. Alpha-amylase hydrolyzes starch by randomly attacking alpha(1.fwdarw.4) linkages to yield a mixture of glucose and free maltose. (Maltose is a disaccharide composed of two glucose monomers linked together by an alpha(1.fwdarw.4) linkage.) The bacteria which increase the rate of food debris putrefaction primarily colonize that portion of food debris which is amylose. The confection of this invention degrades the amylose through the use of alpha-amylase. As a result, the halitosis causing bacteria are denied a colonizable food source in the mouth.
Use of enzymatic reactions in oral hygiene is known, as evideced by Hoogendorn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,362. Formulations are extant which add alphaamylase as an ingredient in dentifrice compositions for the prevention of dental caries. See, for example, Iioka et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,469,673; Pader et al., 3,885,142. Some dentifrices use bacterially derived amylases in combination with a protective colloid as in German Pat. No. 1,467,797. All dentifrice compositions using amylase are liquids and, in at least one formulation, flavoring was added British Pat. No. 1,232,627. It is important to emphasize, however, that the use of amylase in dentifrice compositions is directed not towards the elimination of halitosis but as a appropriate chemical mechanism for the prevention of dental caries. More importantly, dentifrice compositions are not designed to be ingested. This non-comestibility is connected to adverse reactions associated with the ingestion of alpha-amylase at the concentrations in which it is found in dentifrice compositions. Among the adverse reactions which are commonplace is gastrointestinal distress. Despite these contraindications, amylase is found in dentifrice compositions because it is well-known that the enzyme will not have a detrimental effect on the organic structure of the mouth itself.
The prophylactic benefit of liquid dentifrices in the prevention of halitosis is severely limited. As noted, dentifrice compositions which contain alpha-amylase can cause gastrointestinal illness if ingested. Additionally, as is well-known, dentifrice prophylaxis requires the brushing of teeth and the tools necessary to accomplish that task, i.e. a toothbrush and potable water, are not always handy. In the minute-to-minute workings of society, the carrying around of a toothbrush and dentifrice, let alone seeking out potable water, is impractical; this accounts for the aforementioned existence of a proliferation of confections which seek to mask the odors caused by halitosis rather than preventing the formation of odors at their source. The instant invention attacks the problem of halitosis at its cause by enzymatically changing the food debris in the mouth using alpha-amylase in appropriate amounts to avoid any contraindications and, thereby, limit bacterial putrefaction and its concomimitant bad odors.